Indiana AG accused of inappropriate touching

Four women have accused Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill (R) of inappropriately touching them at a bar in March, according to a confidential memo obtained by the Indianapolis Star. 

The allegations are the subject of an investigation by the Indiana General Assembly. The memo, prepared by the law firm Taft Stettinius & Hollister, came at the request of state lawmakers, the Star reported. 

{mosads}The memo alleges that Hill put his hands under one female lawmaker’s clothes and grabbed her buttocks. It also alleges that the attorney general grabbed a legislative employee’s buttocks, as well, and inappropriately hugged and touched two other employees. 

At one point, the memo alleges, Hill told women at the bar that they needed to “show a little skin” if they wanted to get served faster.

The alleged touching and groping by Hill came at a party to celebrate the end of the legislative session. Hill, according to the memo, was “very intoxicated” at the gathering. 

Hill denied the allegations in a statement to the Star, saying that “at no time was my behavior inappropriate nor did I touch anyone in an inappropriate manner.”

“The atmosphere was light and jovial, as would be expected in a bar,” Hill said, according to the Star. “I interacted with several people — talking, laughing, and telling stories.”

“I have never been contacted by any investigator,” he added. “I have not been informed of who made these allegations nor have I been provided any due process with regard to these vicious allegations.”

Hill, a prominent conservative and considered a rising star in the Republican Party, is an opinion contributor to The Hill.

The allegations against Hill were first brought to the attention of state legislative leaders in May, according to the Star, prompting an investigation into the accusations. Legislative leaders then hired attorney Blake Burgan of Taft Stettinius & Hollister, who authored the memo.

The memo, which was redacted by the Star to protect the women’s identities, concluded that Hill’s behavior toward the legislative employees was “certainly inappropriate” but was “not sufficiently severe or pervasive to establish a valid claim” of workplace abuse.

Hill’s alleged actions toward the lawmaker, however, were “likely egregious enough to meet the threshold of ‘severe,'” the memo says, according to the Star.